Chuck vs what has to be done
by Krisrath
Summary: Sequel to Chuck vs. the Vacation. Morgan and Anna are dead, Sarah's missing, the team has no leads, and Chuck may be her only hope. Can he hold it together?
1. Chapter 1

Chuck vs. What has to be done

"Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength."

~Unknown.

That quote is what launched me into this sequel of Chuck vs. The vacation. This is my experiment in seeing how I think Chuck would react to the situation we were left in at the end of CvTV. We all know that when the chips are down Chuck has a tendency to step up to the plate and save the day.

But how will he react when the situation is worse than what we have seen on the show before?

Let's find out shall we?

Charles 'Chuck' Irving Bartowski – Charles Ian Michaelson

Sarah Walker – Sara White

John Casey – John Reynolds

?????????? – Christina Terrell

Eleanor Fae Bartowski-Woodcombe – Elizabeth Harrison

Devon 'Awesome' Woodcombe – David Harrison

Morgan Grimes – Martin Burns(KIA)

Anna Wu – Tina Cho (KIA)

Carina - Rachel Erin Davis

Chapter 1.

* * *

John stepped up beside Christina and handed her a cup of coffee. "How long has he been at it?"

Christina nodded in thanks for the coffee then looked back through the window at the meeting room. There were files and folders covering the entire meeting table that could easily seat 12 people. The walls had groups of pictures making their way around the room. In the middle of the table sat Chuck, methodically going through the contents of a file in front of him before moving it to his left and grabbing another from his right.

Finally with a sigh she replied, "Four and half days give or take. Might be 5, hell I barely know what day it is myself and I've slept. I've never seen anything like it... it's like Chuck took a vacation and he left us Agent Michaelson and the intersect."

John snorted. "I don't think that's very far from the truth. How much of Chuck's past did your file have in it?"

Christina shook her head. "Not much, just that he attended Stanford for college, really. It pretty much began when your team was formed."

John sighed. "I'm going to tell you a story, a story about the last time Chuck lost someone he was in love with. The only reason I'm telling you this is because I'm going to need your help to keep an eye on him. I'm more worried about the twerp than I ever have been before."

John slurped his coffee, and began. "When Chuck was in college he started dating a girl named Jill...."

* * *

"ARRRGGHHHHH!" Chuck slammed a folder down on his left as he failed to flash on anything in it yet again.

Chuck got up from the table forcefully, his chair skittering across the floor. He stepped out of the meeting room and headed for the gym, noticing but not caring that John and Christina followed him. After changing into his workout clothes he silently thanked Christina for washing them. He couldn't bring himself to go back to the house.

Chuck stretched and then began warming up on the heavy bag. He felt like he was fighting in water. Everything felt surreal from his lack of sleep. But he just couldn't sleep, he'd tried the first night. The nightmares were more than he could take.

_Whap. Whap. Whap. Inhale. Exhale. Whap. Whap. Whap. _The sounds of leather striking leather echoed through the gym. Chuck's vision started to pulse around the edges but he ignored it and pushed on. _ Whap. Whap. Whap. Inhale. Exhale. Whap. Whap. Whap. _Suddenly Chuck felt very dizzy and he tried to hug the heavy bag as his balance went haywire. But he missed and was heading for the floor. He was unconcious before he hit the floor and never felt the impact.

John pulled out his cell and dialed a number as he walked into the gym. "Yeah he just passed out. I'm going to give him the injection and move him to the infirmary. He's all yours after that."

John pulled out a needle and tapped the air out of the tube. Christina asked, "What is that?"

"Temazepam. Medium dosage. Its a medication for insomniacs. Should give him about 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Ellie is on the way to hook him up to an IV and push some nutrients into him. He passed out because he hasn't eaten in over 18 hours but he's been working out every 6 hours. His blood sugar just crashed on him.

"So where was I? Oh yeah in the end it turned out that Bryce really hadn't betrayed him. And as for Jill, well, she had the drop on Sara and Chuck intervened saving her life. He tricked Jill into getting into this car that had one of the CIA special packages on it. He put the car into lockdown and sent her to jail for the rest of her life without blinking an eye."

Christina helped John move Chuck to the infirmary before speaking again. "Must have been tough for him to choose between two women he loved like that."

Ellie and David walked in at that moment and Ellie peered at John. "What two women?"

John chuckled, "I'm catching her up on Chuck's history with heartbreak and how dangerous it can be for him. I was just briefing her on Jill."

Ellie was efficiently hooking Chuck up to monitors and IV's when she snorted, "Heartbreak over Jill?" Ellie shook her head. "HA! Chuck spent five years in depression over betrayal by someone he considered a very good friend. And thinking that same friend had stolen away a woman he thought he was in love with."

Ellie hooked up a final line to Chuck and then turned to Christina and John. "Yes that's right, 5 years of depression over a woman he thought he was in love with. I know my brother... and Sarah is the first girl he's ever been truly in love with."

Suddenly Chuck sat straight up in bed, his eyes were screwed tightly shut. Machines started beeping because Chuck's pulse rate had shot through the roof. Chuck screamed out one word, "SARAH!!" then collapsed back on the bed.

By the time David had reacted and gotten a syringe of medicine Chuck's heartrate was going back down. Ellie reached out and held David back from injecting Chuck, "He's just having a nightmare."

Casey looked perplexed. "I though people on that drug didn't dream....."

David looked up at Casey. "You know how much he loves Sara, man. To be honest I've always felt a little insecure seeing the love those two shared. Those two share the kind of thing that poems and songs are written about. I've always wondered if I let Ellie see I love her as much as everyone can plainly see those two love one another. There is nothing in this world or the next that will keep Chuck from reaching Sara. I just hope for his sake that she's still on this world."

John's eyes turned cold. "If she isn't, you can guarantee that Saint Peter is going to need to hire some help...."

* * *

6 hours later...

John looked up at the screen as General Beckman's face appeared.

"General."

Beckman nodded. "Colonel Reynolds. Any news?"

John shook his head. "Just that we finally got Michaelson to get some sleep. Anything on your end?"

Beckman exhaled heavily and shook her head. "No... we had another lead yesterday. Our teams showed up only to find the safehouse cleared out. The coffee on the table was still warm. They are staying one step ahead of us. We did find hair samples that were DNA matches to Agents White and Davis. And again, we found no evidence that either one was being tortured."

Beckman leaned over the desk again. "I originally put your team on lockdown because I was worried that this was a plot to get at the Intersect. But now I believe that Agent Davis was the primary target and Agent White was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Do you think your team is ready to take the lead on this investigation?"

Casey stood up. "Ma'am I was starting to get worried that I'd turn around to find Chuck had dissapeared on me. You know there isn't a place in the world that can hold him in with what he has in his head. He's stayed in here out of respect to you. I've seen what Michaelson is capable of when it comes to White's safety. You let him out of this cage and I'll guarantee you that we will take apart The Ring piece by piece until we find her."

The General's brow wrinkled. "Colonel there are some missions that even though you succeed you never really come back from. I'm worried this may be one of those. I'm counting on you to bring everyone home, intact, from this one. Undersood?"

"Ma'am Yes Ma'am!"

"Good, Beckman out."

John walked out of the meeting room and stepped up beside Christina as she held Chuck's hand while he slept. "Go get some shuteye Terrell. We just got the green light, our team is taking over the investigation as soon as he's awake and ready to go."

Christina shook her head. "No, I'm going to nap here. He hasn't had a nightmare since I started holding his hand."

Casey grunted. "Fine. I'm gonna be on the couch out there. Come get me as soon as he wakes up."

* * *

Chuck's eyes fluttered open and he struggled to take in his surroundings. As he looked around he saw Ellie sitting to his left. He smiled at her involuntarily, she smiled back. "Hey little brother...."

Chuck croaked out, "Hey big sister...." Ellie held a glass of water up for him. But when Chuck went to raise his right hand it seemed to be stuck. Chuck looked over and saw that Christina was basically hugging his hand and had her head laying on it. Chuck would have smiled at the scene if it hadn't driven home the fact that Sara was gone. Chuck pulled his hand free, and while he was gentle about it he was far from tender.

Ellie watched as Chuck's face changed. She knew what was happening, she did it on a daily basis. Chuck was distancing himself from his emotions so that he could deal with everything. She knew it was neccesary but it still broke her heart to watch it happen. She'd always loved the fact that Chuck had always been so open with his emotions.

Christina woke up and looked up to find Chuck's eyes open. She smiled up at him. "Hey there. You feeling better?"

Chuck shrugged. "Physically."

Christina winced. "Well that's a start. Ellie would you mind giving him a full checkup. Beckman wants us to take over the investigation. I want to make sure he's ready for it."

Chuck smiled but it was a cold smile that made both of the girls lean back slightly. "Finally."

Christina stood up. "Well I'll... I'll just get you some food. I'm sure your starving."

Ellie looked Chuck over medically and then checked him out in a more sisterly fashion. "Are you okay little brother?"

Chuck shrugged. "I have to be sis. I have to get her back. What we have together has become my everything. I don't know how to exist without her anymore. So for now, nothing else matters but getting her back. When that's done I'll worry about the rest."

Ellie tried to hold her composure, but a few stray tears coursed down her cheeks as she leaned down and hugged Chuck. "I love you little brother. Come back to me, and bring my sister with you."

Chuck nodded. "I'll do my best."

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

Chuck vs. What has to be done

Nope I don't own Chuck.

"I miss you even more than I could have believed; and I was prepared to miss you a good deal."  
--Vita Sackville-West

Charles Irving 'Chuck' Bartowski – Charles Ian Michaelson

Sarah Walker – Sara White

John Casey – John Reynolds

?????????? – Christina Terrell

Eleanor Fae Bartowski-Woodcombe – Elizabeth Harrison

Devon 'Awesome' Woodcombe – David Harrison

Morgan Grimes – Martin Burns (KIA)

Anna Wu – Tina Cho (KIA)

Carina - Rachel Erin Davis

Special thanks go out to Mojo01 for helping me beta this story.

Chapter 2.

* * *

Marcus stepped into the shaft of light and waited to be adressed.

"What do you have to report today Marcus?" a mechanized female voice asked.

Marcus smiled. "We have captured Agent Sarah Walker."

"Interesting. I was unaware that we had any leads on her."

Marcus shrugged. "We didn't sir. She was assumed dead, off the grid, or in deep cover." He flipped through a file. "She was captured when our extraction team went in after Agent Rachel Davis."

"A stroke of good luck it seems. We knew there was a personal connection between those two."

Marcus flipped a page. "Yes ma' there are some even more interesting things to report. During the extraction two people were killed. They were the Agents that had surveillance on Agent Davis. The interesting thing about them is the fact that their descriptions match those of one Anna Wu and one Morgan Grimes. Both well known associates of Orion's son. Their files are attached to today's briefing."

"So let me get this straight. Orion's son, this Charles Bartowski, had one of the top NSA cleaners, one of the CIA's top deep cover operatives, and two other CIA agents around him. Four agents.... to protect Orion's family. Something doesn't add up here. Two agents would be understandable. One for the brother and one for the sister, but I think there was more to that operation than we are seeing here. Have you been able to get anything out of Agent Walker?"

Marcus shook his head. "We only realized who we had captured today. They have been bouncing from safehouse to safehouse since the NSA and CIA have been expending a lot of resources in order to track her down. When we acertained who she was I sent in four of my most trusted men. They are moving her to Three Springs as we speak."

"Excellent Marcus, we would like for you to handle this interrogation personally. I want to know what was going on in L.A."

"And what of Agent Davis?"

"Have her moved to Three Springs as well, at least until we find out what was going on in L.A. Good work Marcus. We look forward to hearing further good news. "

Marcus smiled thinly. "Thank you."

* * *

John watched as Chuck and Christina made their way around the room. Chuck made sure he glanced at every picture on the wall. When that was done he went back to the files Beckman had sent over. He'd been at it for two hours now with no apparent results. Finally John realized what was wrong and sighed, "Some days I hate this assignment...."

John walked into the meeting room. "Terrell, give Michaelson and I the room." He walked around the room and pulled the shutters closed over the windows.

Chuck raised an eyebrow. "What's going on Reynolds?"

There was a noticable clicking sound as John locked the door to the room. "That's what I intent to find out, Michaelson."

Chuck's brow furrowed as he took on a confused look. "I'm not following you Reynolds."

"It won't work this way.... you don't work this way."

Chuck shook his head. "I'm still not following."

John looked at Chuck with as neutral an expression as he could. "When was the last time you said her name?"

Chuck huffed. "Look, I'm not really sure what you're getting at, and I kind of wish you would make your point.I have files to go through."

John threw a small voice recorder on the table within Chuck's reach. Chuck picked it up and looked at it for a minute before pushing play. The recorder whirred to life. Chuck listened, as parts of the playback burned through the obsessed fog he had enshrouded himself in:

_"I am unable to find a connection between Rogue Agent Sanders and Agents White or Davis..." _

_"...all of Agent White's former partners have been accounted for except for Agent Davis..."_

_"...my current theory is that Agent Davis was the primary target. The kidnapping of Agent White was merely a case of wrong place, wrong time..."_

_"...no sign of Agent White or Davis being interrogated at either safehouse..."_

_"...Agent White's trail seems to have gone cold..."_

I added italics to designate the recording, and removed excess elipses in a few places, in addition to adding them at the beginning of each segmented quote. Also changed the wording regarding Sara's kidnapping for flow purposes..

Chuck looked up at John, pausing hestiatntly. "I..."

John walked around the table and placed one meaty paw on Chuck's shoulder. "Look Chuck, I've watched you two kids dance around what you have for years. And with all the odds against you, you two finally made something of it. Because you never gave up and you never stopped fighting and caring for her. Don't you dare give up on her now when she needs you more than ever."

He sighed, and continued. "She doesn't need Agent Michaelson looking for her. We have teams of CIA and NSA agents looking for her. She needs Chuck to look for her, because Chuck would move heaven and hell to find her. Now pull your head out of your ass and find my partner before I give you some pain you can't hide from."

John roughly pushed Chuck towards the wall of pictures and marched out the room. He passed Christina at a quick pace. But not quick enough for her not to notice that his eyes were shinier than normal.

Christina stood staring after John as he crossed the base, her mouth hanging open slightly. She almost jumped out of her skin at the voice that spoke up from beside her.

"Sara says that is happening more the longer he's around Chuck."

Christina whipped around to find Ellie standing there, her eyes following him as he walked away. When the surprise wore off Christina's eyebrows knitted together.

"What's happening more often?"

"Him showing emotion. Especially when it comes to Chuck or Sara. You begin to wonder if he thinks of them as a younger brother and sister."

Ellie sighed. "But on the other hand that stupid brother of mine is trying to act like John and hide from what he's feeling."

Christina tried to peek a look at Chuck but he was out of her view currently. "I thought it was some sort of Bartowski inner strength. You both seem to be holding together just fine in spite of it all."

Ellie blinked away the tears that had been trying to fall ever since she had heard. She turned to enter the conference room. As she moved away she tossed over her shoulder. "It does seem that way doesn't it."

Ellie shut the door behind her and looked at Chuck through her tears. "Hey little brother...."

* * *

Sara sat up and looked around slowly. Her head felt stuffed full of cotton and her tongue felt dry and swollen. '_How long have I been out?'_

Sara spotted a bottle of water on the table and grabbed it. She drank gingerly and relished the feeling of the cool liquid as it soothed her dry throat. Then she surveyed her situation.

_'Definately a higher end holding room. Keypad lock on the door. Welded bed frame. Bedside table bolted to the floor. No doubt that large mirror is two way or has a camera behind it. This isn't looking good. They took everything on me, even changed my clothes. I hope Chuck is okay.'_

The door opened and Marcus entered the room. Another large man followed him and set down a chair. Marcus sat down and the large man left again. "Good Afternoon Agent Walker."

Sara just stared at him.

"Look, Agent Walker, lets be civil. I haven't been forced to do anything unpleasant yet, and I'm sincerely hoping I won't have to. My name is Marcus."

Sara appraised the man for a moment before sitting down on the bed. But still she said nothing.

Marcus smiled. "I have some questions about the last couple of years you have spent in LA."

Silence was the only thing that answered him. With a sigh he got up. "I had hoped to deal with this without things getting unpleasant. But it doesn't appear as if that will be the case. Let's take an hour an hour for you to think about what I have in store for you, and an hour for me to prepare to deliver it."

Marcus left the room and walked down the hall speaking to his larger partner. "Let's get setup for a round of waterboarding. It will probably prove ineffective but its worth a try. CIA agents are always the most problematic to get information out of. Guess I'll have to reschedule golf for the weekend...."

* * *

Beckman watched her monitor as the Bartowski siblings small talked their way around the events of the last few days. Nearly anyone who knew the General professionally would be surprised by the look of compassion that was currently on her face.

"Even though you infuriate me at every turn I still wouldn't wish this on you, Bartowski."

Beckman fingered a file on her desk as she watched the siblings talk a while. She reached up and flipped on the audio.

"Sis I've looked at everything in this room. I don't know where to even begin looking for her. I feel like I'm letting everyone down. I'm letting Sarah, you, John, Devon, and even Morgan and Anna down. Morgan would be majorly pissed at me if I took time to grieve for him instead of finding Sarah. But everytime I turn around..."

Chuck broke down and Ellie held him as he cried. Finally he seemed to cry himself out and Ellie helped him wipe his face off. Then she held him at arms length. "Good, now you have gotten that out of your system. Now it's time to be the Chuck that Morgan always hero-worshipped. We will say goodbye to our brother later. Right now I need you to find my sister because I can't lose anyone else in our family at this point. I'm counting on you, little brother."

Chuck looked at his sister for a long time before he took a deep breath and nodded. Chuck stood up and Ellie was happy to see that his entire posture had changed. She wasn't looking at a devastated Chuck or even the Agent Michaelson persona he had been wearing. Before her was 'just Chuck' with an air of determination surrounding him. Ellie stood up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "There's my amazing little brother I've been missing."

Chuck gave Ellie a smile. "Thanks, sis."

Ellie shrugged. "What are sisters for?"

Beckman even afforded herself a small smile. "I wish I had half the relationship with my brother that those two share."

Beckman looked down at the file in front of her again and sighed. "I really hope I'm wrong about this." Beckman pushed a button and watched as Chuck pulled out his phone.

"Looks like its time for me to go to work sis. We have a briefing in 5 minutes. Go get some sleep. I'll call you when I have some news."

Ellie nodded. "Be safe Chuck."

Chuck laughed. "Of course, Sara would kick my ass if I didn't."

Christina stepped in the room. "She's not the only one. I'm sure Ellie and I would be in line right behind her."

Ellie smiled. "You know it."

Ellie left and was passing John when he stopped her. "How's he doing? I... well, I may have been a bit hard on him earlier. I just was never able to motivate him like Sarah. I'm not built that way."

Ellie patted John's arm. "It's okay, John. He's gonna need your strength until this is over. So just be there for him, ya know?"

John nodded. "Yes ma'am"

John entered the room and looked at his two partners. "So, did you find something Chuck?"

Chuck shook his head. "No. I didn't call the meeting."

The big screen snapped on and Beckman's face appeared on it. "I called this meeting. I have some Intel for the intersect to look over." Beckman pushed a few buttons and a dossier popped up spanning 4 of the smaller screens.

Chuck immediately flashed, and from what Beckman could tell it was a big one. Finally Chuck snapped out of it, holding the edge of the table to hold himself up. "Oh God.."

John furrowed his brows. "What is it? And who is that?"

Chuck scrunched his eyes shut for a second and then opened them back up. "That, John, is Director Anderson of the CIA. Graham's replacement. And he's dirty... he's connected in some way with two-thirds of the folders I have in this room. I see connections between him and Fulcrum members as well as with people Rachel knew to be part of Foundation. I'm sure he's part of the ring... I just don't know where he fits in. But considering he has his fingers in at least two pots, I'm assuming he is kind of high up."

John turned around. "This has made its way all the way up to the Director of the CIA??"

Chuck spoke up. "I think it may go farther than that. I see connections from Anderson to our former president as well as at least two, maybe three prominent world leaders. Out of all these folders this is the only guy I think can tell us where Sarah is."

John sat down hard. "Great. And we can't touch him."

Beckman spoke up. "No, officially we can't touch him. Which is why from this moment, Team Intersect is officially relieved of duty. You all need time to get over the loss of three integral team members. You also need to move to either the beta or charlie sites... where you are now is no longer guaranteed to be safe. Arrange for transportation for the Harrisons. And Colonel...."

John looked up at the screen. "Yes ma'am?"

Beckman leaned forward and gave John a very intense look. "Remember this is the director of the CIA we are talking about here. Appointed directly by the president. There is no possible way I could sanction any mission that would result in his capture and interrogation of a presidentially appointed official. Keep your head down, I'll see if I can't arrange for a Blackhawk for transportation. We need to move quickly. There are snakes in the grass. Big ones, its like being surrounded by anacondas."

John stood up and snapped to attention. "Yes ma'am."

Beckman quickly cut the connection and turned off all surveillance. "God speed men..."

Chuck turned to John, his eyes wide with shock and rage. "VACATION?!? NO.... No way! I am going to get Sara. With or without you."

"I know. And so does Beckman. Which is why she just sent us on an unsanctioned mission. She can't officially send us after the Director of the CIA. And if we fail or are caught we won't have any support from her. Which is why you have a choice here, Christina... come with us, or go and protect the Harrisons."

Chuck looked perplexed. "Wait how do you know she sent us on this mission if she can't officially send us on this mission?"

Casey stepped over to the computer and verified the surveillance was off before he replied. "She mentioned Blackhaws and Anaconda in the same sentence. Black Hawk Down was a movie based on Operation Anaconda. It was a never leave a man behind scenario. The General was telling us to bring Sara home. So anything else you feel the burning need to have explained or can we get on with this mission?"

Chuck ignored the cutting remark and asked. "Do you think Ellie and David are safe?"

John shrugged. "Relatively so. I still don't think Sara was actually a target. I think she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Christina sat back and crossed her arms. "Then I'm going with you two. Let's face it, you two will kill each other instead of the enemy if left alone."

Chuck looked at John and smirked. "She probably has a point."

John gave Chuck a withering look. "No probablies to it, moron. Okay, Chuck, you go and brief Ellie and David. Say your goodbyes and meet us back here within two hours. Christina and I will get everything together to leave."

Chuck looked at John for a moment. "You know I'd give you the choice you just gave Christina, but I'm pretty sure you'd kick my ass for even mentioning it."

John gave the barest hind of a smile. "Move your ass, nerd. You can get all those lady feelings off your chest when we get White back."

Chuck rushed out of Fortress, the thought of getting Sara back hurrying his steps.


	3. Chapter 3

Chuck vs. What has to be done

"I've had dreams and I've had nightmares. I overcame the nightmares because of my dreams."  
--Unknown

Charles Irving 'Chuck' Bartowski – Charles Ian Michaelson

Sarah Walker – Sara White

John Casey – John Reynolds

?????????? – Christina Terrell

Eleanor Fae Bartowski-Woodcombe – Elizabeth Harrison

Devon 'Awesome' Woodcombe – David Harrison

Morgan Grimes – Martin Burns(KIA)

Anna Wu – Tina Cho (KIA)

Carina - Rachel Erin Davis

Special thanks go out to Mojo01 for helping me beta this story.

Chapter 3.

* * *

Christina glanced over at Chuck as he started mumbling in his sleep again. Christina queued up her comms. "It looks like he's dreaming again. Should I pull off? That last one he had was pretty violent."

John's voice came back over the comms. "No, the sleeping pill I gave him had a muscle relaxer in it. He shouldn't move much no matter how bad the dream is."

Christina gave Chuck a sad look. "You sound like this is a pretty normal thing. Chuck always deal with this when he sleeps?"

"No, this is the first time I've known of Chuck having any serious nightmares. But I knew everything we deal with would catch up with him eventually. It catches up with all of us."

Christina chewed on her thoughts for a while but eventually tried to relax into the seat of the mustang as the sounds of the C-130 they were traveling in were muffled inside the car.

**********

_Chuck walked down the hallway of the hotel where Sarah had been taken from. He looked around and mumbled to himself. "What the hell am I doing here?"_

_A voice seemed to come from no where and everywhere at the same time. The sound of the voice was very mechanical and like text to speech programs on most computers. "It is time to review the most likely reenactments of the day that Sarah was kidnapped. You need to update your report and you also need to better understand your enemies."_

_Chuck moaned. "Oh god, not another nightmare. Can't I get just a little sleep in peace?"_

_The mechanized voice replied, "This is not a nightmare, Chuck. Protocol dictates that we do a review such as this within the first 48 hours after we study a crime scene. But due to the fact that you did not sleep for 5 days it took us signifigantly longer to process everything. You really should sleep more regularly. This lack of sleep makes both of us ineffecient."_

_Chuck checked his ears for earwigs, finding none he shook his head. "What the hell is going on here? Who is 'us' and who are you?"_

_"Who I am is simple and difficult to answer at the same time. I am you, and I am the intersect."_

_Chuck's eyes shot open. "Yeah, that's pretty vague."_

_"I was not finished with my explanation. I am both you and the intersect. The new intersect you uploaded contained a rudimentary AI in it. Basically it was a set of responses programmed to react to certain situations._

_"The problem is that it was designed to work with an agent's trained responses to a situation. So the new intersect's features were useless to you to begin with. But that changed when Sarah's life was in danger in the intersect room. On a subconcious level you altered the AI of the intersect to help you save Sarah._

_"Most people's subconcious would have rewritten the entire AI so that it worked for you when you needed it. But you are very different. You are scared that if you can do everything stored in the intersect, you would quickly become like John or even Sarah. Considering you are going through agent training, which is more likely to make you like them than just having access to the skills in the intersect, I could almost laugh at the irony. If I had a sense of humor, that is. In the end you compromised with yourself and you are only unlocking things that are generally innocent. The dangerous stuff you don't access unless you or someone else is in a lot of danger."_

_"Wait... so I have an AI in my brain that takes over when I'm in a dangerous situation? Does that mean I have multiple personality disorder?"_

_"No, you misunderstand Chuck. I am more like a secondary subconcious. A set of instincts that help you make sense of, and use the information from the intersect. And right now I'm only a small fragment of the original AI that you have rewritten, as well."_

_"Look, this is a dream, so I'm just going to go with things. Besides if I try to argue this with you I'm really just arguing with myself. So let's go see this most likely scenario you speak of."_

_The scene shifted, and Chuck was suddenly standing behind and to the side of two men. One stood behind the other and held a gun in the back of the man in front. Chuck closed his eyes and turned around. "I don't want to see this. I know Morgan is dead. I don't need to watch how it happened."_

_"Yes, you do need to see it. You need to understand on a conscious level what you already understand unconsciously. You need to understand just how dangerous and deadly these men are."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because you need to realize that unless we work together fully on this mission, you have about a 7% chance of survival."_

_"I don't like those odds. So can't I just agree that I need to fully accept the intersect?"_

_"Only if you believe it..."_

_Chuck stood there for a long time wrestling with himself internally. Finally with a long sigh he turned around. "Show me."_

Chuck watched as the man used Morgan as a body shield while he entered the room set up for surveillance. Anna, both being the fresh agent she was, and deeply in love with Morgan, hesitated. That gave the mystery man all the chance he needed. He shot Anna in the chest. Morgan gave up on everything at that point and just dropped to his knees. The mystery man stepped back and put a round into Morgan's head. With the threats neutralized he quickly moved over to the surveillance equipment and went about erasing everything that had been collected, then disabled the equipment.

Chuck stood staring at the scene in shock for a while. The infiltrator had not hesitated to execute Morgan. Chuck fought with his rising emotions for a long minute before turning around. He saw that the mystery man was stopped mid-stride.

_"So I guess we can control this just like a DVR huh?"_

_Emotionless, the voice replied, "Did you expect any less?"_

_Chuck barked a harsh laugh that had no humor in it. "Okay smartass, lets continue."_

Chuck followed the man as the scenario began to play out again. The man met up with another man just outside of Carina's hotel room. The men set up and breached the room perfectly. One going left and low, the other going high and right. Two shots rang out. The man high and right shot Carina in the forearm. Due to the impact Carina squeezed off a shot that hit Sarah's phone. Sarah didn't even try to raise her gun, she saw that the man low and left had a perfect bead on her. Sarah flicked the safety to the on position on her gun and dropped it. The high and right man injected both women with something he pulled out of a pocket and soon they were both asleep. The men carried the women out unchallenged.

_"Those guys were agents, very good agents. Its the only thing that makes sense. Carina was the target I believe. Sarah was just, well, Sarah, known as one of the best, and they took her for the intel she might be able to provide. Which means without a doubt she's being interrogated somewhere. How long can an agent of Sarah's caliber stand up to torture?"_

_It took a moment before the mechanical voice replied. "It all depends on the torture. Her records show that she had good scores when trained to withstand torture, however. Under normal torture techniques, she should easily be able to last days without any signifigant psychological damage. Then, seven to ten days with moderate psychological damage. It was estimated that within two weeks she would completely break, though."_

_"Wait... I have Sarah's records in here??"_

_"Of course you do."_

_"Why haven't I ever flashed on her then?"_

_"Deep down, do you really want to?"_

_"I guess not. I keep hoping she will talk to me about it all when she can. So, two weeks until she talks."_

_"No, you misunderstand. Sarah never gave up any true information under duress training. It is estimated that within two weeks she will be beyond help to recover from the torture and carry on as an agent. Her psyche profile led her instructors to believe she would find a way to end her life, after that point."_

_"Oh that's just fan-freaking-tastic. If they have been torturing her from day one then I've got, what, less than a day before she's just a little crazy. And just over a week before she's suicidal. DAMMIT!"_

_"Calm down and think rationally, Chuck. We have evidence that they were moving her for at least five days of that time. So chances are she's only had to endure perhaps 2 days of actual torture. But realistically, it's probably more like one day. And as you said, these guys were very professional agents. They aren't going to rush this, they know it will take time to break another agent."_

_"Oh that just makes me feel loads better. She is still being tortured."_

_"This is an undeniable fact. To quote the Colonel, are you going to whine about it, or do something about it?"_

_Chuck started to scream out in rage, but he quickly realized he was yelling at himself. "AHHH! Shit, shit, shit, shit and double shit!" Chuck exhaled heavily. "How do I know I can trust you?"_

_A figure materialized in front of him and Chuck found himself looking at, well, himself. The only difference was the new Chuck was dressed in a set of black tactical mission gear. The copy shrugged at the original and in the same mechanical voice asked. "Can you trust yourself?"_

_"Sarah seems to think I should. And I trust her completely." Chuck held out his hand to his clone._

_The clone shook his hand and nodded. "Now our chances are better than 70% for a successful rescue. Get some sleep, your subconcious and I still have work to do."_

_Chuck nodded, and the dream faded away as he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep._

**********

Christina noticed that Chuck finally settled down into a deep restful sleep. '_About time, he tossed and turned for about 30 minutes. Still almost 2 hours till we touch down, get all the sleep you can Chuck... Might not get another chance for a while.'_

* * *

The Mustang pulled over next to John's Crown Vic and Chuck got out, leaving the engine growling lightly in the background. John leaned back against the Vic and eyed Chuck. '_Well the kid looks focused, I hope he's not trying to pull that __whole__ cold agent routine again.' _"At least that toy of yours is a good Ford product."

Chuck smiled. "Is that a compliment?"

"Only for the car. Lets go get some lodging set up and then we can get a plan together."

"That won't be necessary."

Christina walked up to the two men and broke into the conversation. "What won't be necessary?"

Chuck stated, "Lodging."

Christina looked at the car. "I hope you don't plan on us sleeping in that again?"

Chuck snickered. "Nope."

A van pulled up and out stepped Stephen Bartowski AKA Orion AKA... "Dad. Thank you for coming."

Stephen embraced his son. "Of course. There's no way I'll stand by while those rat bastards have my future daughter in law. You holding up okay, son?"

Chuck smiled. "Surprisingly yes. But I'll be better when we get Sarah back. Are we set up?"

Stephen nodded. "Yes, it's all ready." Stephen pulled open the side door of the van.

John's eyes bugged out and he said with a touch of awe in his voice. "Is that an Orion special mission support package?"

"Yes, and I added a few special things that neither the CIA or NSA know about yet. So careful with it, John. I know about your propensity to blow things up. Anyways, your going to need this and more."

John's eyebrows furrowed. "Why is that?"

Stephen closed the door. "Lets go to my safehouse and I'll explain why."

Everyone nodded and got in their respective cars. Christina chose to ride with Chuck again. "Holy crap! Your dad is actually Orion?"

Chuck shrugged. "Yeah. Is that a big deal?"

Christina rolled her eyes. "No, I don't guess its a big deal unless you consider the fact that almost all of the cool spy gear came from projects he was a part of. Stuff these days is just evolutions of stuff he's made over the years. The only one that's even come close is some kid they have bunkered. But even that kid is still a hack compared to your dad."

Chuck laughed. "Calm down. I'm starting to think you've got a crush on my dad."

Christina gave him an admonishing look. "Please. He's old enough to be my dad. Cripes he might actually be older than my dad."

The elder Bartowski's voice came out of the car radio. "I am. But I'm in much better shape than him."

Christina let out a surprised squeak. The only sound that came from Chuck for a while was laughter, though.

* * *

Stephen set a laptop-looking device in the middle of the table. "This is one of the newer things I've been working on."

A 3-D holographic image of very realistic detail came into view, covering most of the area of the tabletop. Chuck grinned at his dad. "I take it you finally got the refraction matrix stabilized?"

"Yeah, a long time ago. Hardest part was getting a graphics processing unit that could handle the level of detail I wanted without getting hot enough to cook itself."

Christina stood there with her jaw agape. "I can't believe you made this, Orion. This is... amazing."

Stephen pointed at the holographic emitter. "This? I didn't design this. Chuck did. I just helped him work out some of the kinks while he was in training."

Christina stared at Chuck, who just shrugged it off. "I got bored before I started training. It's no big deal, anyways."

Casey broke up the moment. "Yeah its really pretty and shiny and stuff. Now lets get back to the part where I get to shoot people."

Chuck nodded and then leaned over the image. "This is the Director's house. His security is above anything the CIA would set up for him, so we are assuming that the Ring arranged it for him. He has a small security force of about 12 men on the grounds at all times. They seem to rotate out every 12 hours at 6pm and 6am. Which doesn't really matter, since we are going in tonight."

John shook his head. "Tonight? I've got enough guns in my car for a good fight, maybe a quiet infiltration mission. This is storming a compound, though. "

Stephen stood up, walked over to a wall and placed his hand palm down on the wall. A door swung open into a weapons locker. "I think you'll find everything you need in there. This house was set up as one of the rally points in case there was ever a situation that would require making entry on the White House or the Pentagon. Some paranoid analyst came up with the scenario back in the 60's and this place has been updated yearly ever since."

John looked over the room and grunted. "Okay, we've got firepower. But we are four against twelve. Are you even up to this kind of field work Mr. Bartowski? And then Chuck and Christina are only through about a third of agent training. Do you really think we can handle this, Chuck?"

Chuck gave John a very level look. "I am 100% positive. I wouldn't bet Sarah's life on anything less."

John stared at Chuck for a long time before stepping up close to Chuck and growling at him. "Don't make me regret trusting you on this. Now what's your plan."

Chuck nodded. "At approximately 0100 we start the mission. Dad is going to access their security system. He's going to make it look like there is an incursion by 3 or 4 men of possibly middle eastern descent from that area. Your job will be to make them believe that. That enough gunplay for you?"

John shrugged. "We will see."

Chuck barked a laugh. "Okay while John is keeping them occupied over there, Christina and I will make entry over here." Chuck made some hand gestures and the picture changed to a 3-D cutaway of the interior of the house. All 3 floors were represented, and as Chuck talked he moved the pictures around, pointing things out. "There's no evidence of a safe room in the house from Dad's scans. So, odds are we will find him in the bedroom here on the second floor. We make a quiet entry and grab the Director, then exit here.

"As soon as we make our exit I'll advise John over comms and he will rendevous with Dad here. We all drive away and meet up here by 0600. Everyone onboard? This is your chance to walk away before we totally go off the reservation."

John grunted. "Okay, its a decent plan. Simple and open to improvisation. I'm in."

Christina nodded. "I'm in as well."

Chuck smiled. "Thank you both. I'm gonna grab some shuteye. Lets reconvene at 2300 for mission prep."

Chuck went upstairs and sat down on the bed. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. "Michaelson secure...

"...Did you find her?

"...Good, tell her I said thank you for the assist. Everyone is onboard, we make our entrance at 0100. I'll need you prepared to facilitate the extraction.

"...My answer hasn't changed since the first time you asked me. Yes she's worth it.

"...Thanks for your concern but I'll be fine. With the intersect's help I can handle this. Just be there tonight, I want this to be a clean op with no losses."


	4. Chapter 4

Chuck vs. What has to be done.

"All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him." - Sun Tzu

Charles Irving 'Chuck' Bartowski – Charles Ian Michaelson

Sarah Walker – Sara White

John Casey – John Reynolds

?????????? – Christina Terrell

Eleanor Fae Bartowski-Woodcombe – Elizabeth Harrison

Devon 'Awesome' Woodcombe – David Harrison

Morgan Grimes – Martin Burns(KIA)

Anna Wu – Tina Cho (KIA)

Carina - Rachel Erin Davis

Thanks go out to Mojo01 for betaing this chapter for me.

Thanks also go out to those that continue to read and review. You guys are why I keep writing this.

Chapter 5.

* * *

John looked tense as he slowly let the van coast up the street. "You better hurry. They can see us now."

Stephen typed furiously. "They are pretty good... But I'm almost... There! I'm in. 30 seconds and I'll control the whole system. Head to our parking spot."

John pulled the van around to the side of the estate and shut it down. He crawled into the back of the van and did a final check on his gear. He glanced over at Chuck and Christina. "You two ready?"

Chuck shrugged. "Are you ever ready for this kind of thing?"

John muttered, "Some of us are."

Stephen spoke up. "Okay, the electronic security is under my control now. Let me know when you're in position, John, and I'll start the video feed."

John gave Chuck an odd look. "Watch your ass out there, Chuck. Sara would become a real pain in the ass to work with if you get shot or something." With that said John jumped out of the van, and made his way along the property wall until he was in position.

John queued up his mic. "I'm in position, lets get this party started."

Stephen started the video feed and then replied. "Go for it, John. Right now they think you are a team of extremists. And it looks like you have 6 men in route to your position."

John tossed out a smoke grenade and then started laying down bursts of automatic fire. "Now this is the way to spend a Saturday night."

* * *

Chuck made his way towards the house with Christina in tow. He could clearly hear the sounds of the gunfight in full swing on the other side of the estate. Chuck ignored it though and continued making his way stealthily to the mansion. As they were making their way around the house he heard the _pfft pfft_ of a silenced weapon behind him. He turned to see Christina had taken out a guard that had come around the corner towards them. Chuck nodded his thanks at her and the duo continued making their way to the house.

Chuck peeked in the side door of the house and saw that the room it opened on was empty. He tried the door handle but found it locked. With the help of the intersect they were quickly inside and began sweeping the bottom floor. Chuck pulled up his sleeve and typed something into the computer strapped to his forearm. Orion's voice came over the comms. "The ground floor looks completely empty. I'm showing two guards upstairs with the director."

Chuck made his way to the stairs. Once there he gave Christina a look that asked. 'Are you ready?'

Her almost smile and nod was all the answer he needed.

* * *

Casey smiled as he slipped through the night. _'That's three in the bag tonight. I might have to actually be nice to Chuck for a few days after this.' _The whine of a bullet ricocheting close by brought John out of his thoughts. John made his way behind a small storage building and tried to take stock of his remaining opposition. John was distressed to see that there were more muzzle flashes than there should have been. John squeezed off several quick shots and then made his way to his next safe spot.

_'That's five in the bag and it looks like there are at least that many still out there but it could easily be more. Something is wrong with this situation...' _"Orion, I don't like this. Something is wrong, there are more hostiles out here than there should be."

"I don't like it either. It's too late to turn back now though. Michaelson is already upstairs. Hang in there just a little longer"

John squeezed off a couple of shots and took out another hostile. "The twerp better hurry, I'm getting low on ammo out here."

"I'll call you in a delivery order at the Gun Hut."

* * *

Chuck quietly made his way up the stairs, keeping his weight on the outsides of the steps. He motioned for Christina to take the lead. The pair moved fluidly and in sync up the hallway... a dance they had practiced over and over again. The only music was the soft reports of Christina's pistol as she took out yet another guard. Chuck told himself he could think about it later, now there were more important things to deal with.

Soon enough they made it to the large set of double doors that signified the master bedroom. The pair got into a classic breaching position. Chuck worked on the armband computer for a short time before looking back up at Christina. Chuck eased the door open and then made a quick and low entry. Christina followed behind him.

* * *

Six men in black tactical gear approached Orion's van. One of them spoke into a throat microphone. "Okay that is the van that the signal seems to be originating from. Beta and Charlie cover the front doors. Gamma and Echo the side door. Zulu and I will make entry through the back door."

The men took a moment to check weapons and gear. Then they stealthily made their way over to the van. The man that spoke took a moment to make sure everyone is in position. Looking at his partner he held out his hand, fingers up. Nodding, and he began dropping fingers in a countdown.

* * *

John peeked his head around the corner of the small building he was using for cover. He barely pulled it back in time to miss the hail of bullets that greeted him. _'Dammit... that moron better hurry. I'm down to one escape route. And at this rate that window is gonna be closed fast.'_

Orion's voice came over the comms. "Reynolds that delivery I ordered for you is on the way. Coming in from your west. It's fresh and if I may say, very hot."

John replied, "Orion, you better not be coming in here. I'll never hear the end of it if you get turned into swiss cheese."

A throaty, feminine voice made John spin around, gun at the ready. The feminine voice teased. "I was wondering if I would get the chance to work with you again."

The female slammed John up against the wall as she took out a guy that tried to flank the duo. John spun the woman into the wall as he took out a guy that was coming in from the other direction. "What are you doing here?"

The duo stood back to back taking out several guys trying to flank them. "The nerd made contact through a mutual colleague. Asked me to make sure you made it out of here. So lets get ready to move."

John shrugged. "I've gotta keep these guys occupied until the kid is out of there."

"He's already out, he's just off comms. Now lets move."

John smirked. "Fine but you lead the way Forrest."

Forrest smirked back. "Sure thing. Just make sure your watching my back and not my backside."

John grunted. "No promises."

The duo made their way off the property and Forrest led them to a car. The two agents hopped in and sped away. John looked back only to see the surveillance van explode. "Son of a..." John felt like he had just been hit in the head with a sledgehammer. John turned an intense gaze on Forrest. "Stop the car."

Forrest shook her head. "I can't."

John pulled his weapon and held it to Forrest's head. "Stop the car now or I will end you."

Forrest sighed. "Reynolds, I can't. I'm under orders."

John growled. "In case you hadn't heard I have been promoted to Colonel. I am the ranking officer on this mission."

"No, your not, Reynolds. I am under direct orders from Agent Michaelson, via General Beckman. Michaelson is currently team leader for the duration of this mission. You have a problem with that take it up with the General. We have a briefing in an hour."

* * *

Stephen Bartowski leaned his head back into the seat of the government sedan he was in. "Okay, Roan, out with it. How did you know I was about to be ambushed?"

Roan waved a hand. "Oh come now Stephen. I'm a spy, its what I do."

Stephen barked a laugh. "Oh come off it, Roan. You brought Forrest with you as well. What's really going on here."

Roan shrugged. "You'll have to talk to the General... we have a briefing in an hour."

Stephen sighed. "What about Chuck? Is there someone extracting him as well?"

Roan lit a cigarette. "Charles has his own way out." Roan muttered inaudibly, "Damn fool of a kid."

* * *

Chuck looked at the five men fanned out in front of him, four of them with their gun trained on him. Chuck slowly stood up keeping his pistol low and at his side. "Well it looks like you were expecting us."

The click of a pistol being cocked preceded the feeling of a barrel being pressed into the back of Chuck's head. Christina commented. "Actually they were expecting you. Now be a good boy and drop your gun."

Chuck dropped his gun and sighed. "What's the deal Christina? They offer you a better health plan?"

Christina jabbed the gun into Chuck's head. "Just be good and we won't have to test out _your_ medical plan."

Chuck winced at the pain of the gun being poked into his head. "So, Director Anderson, is the the part where you regale me with your evil plans in clichéd Bond-villain style?"

Anderson laughed. "This the the real world, son. You will be removed to a secure location. And I will use your discomfort to bring Orion out of hiding, as well as making Agent Walker more cooperative. Thanks to Agent Terrell over there, we know all about you."

Chuck shrugged. "Good luck with all that. I really think you'd have better luck trying to blow up the world, though."

Christina restrained Chuck while Anderson responded to his quip. "This isn't some Hollywood movie, son. This is real life. We don't want to destroy the world, we just want to fix it."

Chuck sighed. "Is this going to be the cancer speech? The one where you guys are the specialized surgeons? Heard that one last week."

Anderson looked at Christina with a sardonic raise of his eyebrow. "Your report failed to mention that he was such a comedian."

Chuck felt a sting in his shoulder. As his world faded to black the last thing he heard was Anderson's orders. "Let's get him to Three Springs asap. Marcus isn't having any luck with Agent Walker so far. But I think this will turn things in our favor. Soon we will have whatever information Agent Walker has as well as a way to bring Orion out of hiding."

No one noticed the smile that crossed Chuck's face before he succumbed to the drugs.

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

Chuck vs. What has to be done.

Charles Irving 'Chuck' Bartowski – Charles Ian Michaelson

Sarah Walker – Sara White

John Casey – John Reynolds

?????????? – Christina Terrell

Eleanor Fae Bartowski-Woodcombe – Elizabeth Harrison

Devon 'Awesome' Woodcombe – David Harrison

Morgan Grimes – Martin Burns(KIA)

Anna Wu – Tina Cho (KIA)

Carina - Rachel Erin Davis

To torture a man you have to know his pleasures.  
~Stanislaw Lem

Thanks go out to Mojo01 for betaing this chapter for me.

Thanks also go out to those that continue to read and review. You guys are why I keep writing this.

Sorry for the delay between chapters. Life has been really busy lately. Looks like things will be getting back to normal in another week or two so hang in there, we will get to the end of this ride I promise.

As a bonus this is one of my longest chapters to date. Enjoy!

Chapter 5

* * *

John exited the house and pulled out his cell phone. "Reynolds secure...

"Ma'am we found the place...

"No ma'am. Neither White nor Michaelson are accounted for at this moment. But I've got to be honest, they could very well be in there and just not identified. This place looks like a bad horror movie."

**Ring Compound 40 Hours Prior**

Chuck groaned as his eyelids fluttered open. The light seemed to make miniature explosions cook off in his head. Eventually his eyes adjusted and focused. Immediately he took in the sight before him and, despite the throbbing in his head, he smiled. It didn't matter that Sarah was looking at him with fire in her eyes and her voice was venomous when she spoke.

"What are you doing here?"

Chuck looked up at his hands that held him suspended so that he was forced to stand uncomfortably straight. "Well it's been a while since we hung out. I was missing you and thought I would drop in."

Sarah's eyes narrowed as she growled. "Chuck..."

Chuck sighed. "Look, calm down. I didn't give myself up or get myself caught in some hare brained scheme to rescue you. Christina is a member of The Ring."

Sarah looked even angrier as she spat. "I'll kill that two faced hussie..."

Chuck nodded. "Well maybe that won't be necessary, but you can definitely kick her butt before you arrest her."

Sarah looked at Chuck in wonder and then a sound escaped her lips that was somewhere between a sob and a laugh. As it continued it eventually turned into a laugh, a desperate one, but a laugh nonetheless.

Chuck smiled as Sarah laughed. He couldn't help it. Finally, he interrupted her. "Sarah I need you to listen to me... I don't know how much time we are going to have. Do you remember that first night on the beach? Do you remember the important thing you asked me?"

Sarah nodded. "Yes, there are only a few memories I have that are more vivid."

Chuck looked at her intently. "It's your turn. Will you?"

Sarah narrowed her eyes at him. "Your questioning that I do?"

Chuck shook his head. "No I just know this is going to be hard. I'm asking you to go farther than you've ever had to before with me."

Sarah's eyes softened as did her voice. "You know I do, and you know I always will."

Chuck smiled. "Good, 'cause I need you to know this is going to hurt you a whole lot more than it will me. Just remember, I love you, and I never have and never will give up on us."

Sarah started to reply but the door opened and in walked a man Sarah would have nightmares about for some time. Marcus immediately began talking as two of his men took Chuck down and secured him to a wooden plank. "Well that was rather touching, I must say. You know, when Christina first told me the story of this torrid romance between an agent and an analyst turned agent I must say, it warmed my heart. I just wonder if it is going to have a tragic end."

Sarah looked at Chuck for a moment. "The only tragedy would have been missing this."

Marcus actually gave a genuine smile. "Excellent attitude. Do keep it up. I must be honest, this has been one of my more enjoyable assignments. Granted its always rewarding to get the information, but you have been a true challenge. I'm hoping your boyfriend is as resilient. But I'm also curious to see how you will react to his interrogation." Marcus' smile grew even larger. "Yes I think its going to be a very interesting day."

Marcus waved a hand at his minions, and they began to pour water over Chucks face. "Just let me know when you're ready to talk, Agent Michaelson, and this can all be over..."

* * *

**Fortress 36 Hours Prior**

John looked up at Stephen with a confused look. "So let me see if I get all of this right. Chuck has finally learned how to use all of the new features of the intersect. Chuck knew that Christina was part of The Ring. Chuck planned to get captured. You knew about it. And your not the least bit worried that The Ring is currently torturing Chuck, who by the way has the pain tolerance of a toddler. Oh, and on top of that Sarah is watching it and we all know how compromised she is. Did I get that all Stephen?"

John's head whipped around as the General's voice rang out. "Well, you did forget about the part where Agent Michaelson has a subcutaneous burst transmitter for us to track him with. You also forgot the fact that Michaelson was able to sufficiently convince me, to the extent that this entire operation is sanctioned. You also forgot that I gave him command of this mission, so currently you are questioning orders and disrespecting a superior officer. And furthermore, you are acting more compromised than White."

John's eyes bugged out of his head. "Disrespecting... superior officer... compromised" Casey grumbled. "Merely a higher ranking one... I'll kill that geek if he comes back alive..."

Beckman shook her head. "As you were, Colonel, and have a seat. We have a rescue op to get under way. It's time to bring those two home. Roan, you have command. Beckman out."

Roan sipped at his martini and pointed to Stephen. "You mind starting us off, Stephen?"

Stephen punched a few keys in on his arm computer. The screens on the wall lit up. "Really not much to it. We all know how burst tracking transmitters work. They send out a micro-burst signal at random intervals to keep from being detected. We could be looking at anything from 12 to 72 hours to track down Chuck's location." An area covering roughly ¾ of the world popped up on screen. "So far, we have narrowed it down to this area."

John shook his head, and shot back in a sarcastic manner, "Oh great that's really helpful. The twerp will be singing like a canary within 30 minutes. What the?!" A soft popping noise was heard then John reached up and pulled a dart from his neck. Three more soft pops were heard, and then John was slumped over the table, snoring.

Stephen raised an inquiring eyebrow at Forrest. "Ummm?"

Forrest shrugged. "Old guys can get whiney when they don't get enough sleep."

Roan raised his martini at Forrest. "As brilliant as she is beautiful."

Forrest reloaded the dart gun. "Don't start. I won't waste a tranq on you."

Roan harrumphed. "Noted..."

* * *

**30 Hours Prior**

Sarah grimaced at how cold and emotionless Chuck's voice was. "I'm okay Sarah, I promise."

Sarah sighed. "Considering what I've seen in the past you'll have to forgive me for having a hard time believing that."

Chuck tried to shrug but was unsuccessful, considering he was suspended by his wrists. "Honestly this is the easy part. You're better at compartmentalizing than I am."

Sarah harrumphed. "You seem to be doing a great job so far."

Marcus's voice broke in. "Yes, Agent Michaelson, I've been quite impressed. I'm curious just what your S.E.R.E. scores were in training. Sadly, though, this is the real world, and you made the mistake of falling in love with your partner. There's no amount of training that can prepare you to watch the one you love be tortured."

Chuck uttered a hollow and haunted laugh. "That's funny. You should have been around for the first two years of our relationship."

* * *

**Fortress 25 Hours Prior**

John glared at Forrest over the table as he continued cleaning his favorite assault rifle. Alex smirked at him. "Oh get over it, Colonel. You needed the rest anyways."

John checked the action on the bolt of his rifle before finishing up the reassembly of it. John set the rifle down and looked over the table at Forrest. "You didn't understand our team before, and I doubt you've had an epiphany in the time between visits. So I'm going to make this very clear and concise. You ever tranq me again when two of my team are in enemy hands like that again and I will end you. Career be damned."

John stood up quickly from the table and walked away. Forrest looked slightly confused, and highly irritated at the outburst. She looked up to find Roan standing nearby and inquired of him, "That guy always wound that tight?"

Roan looked in the direction John had retreated for a moment before answering. "I think he is when it comes to those two."

Forrest grimaced and replied. "I just don't get why they let this team even stay together. They are all horribly compromised. If anyone actually knew of this team in the agency they would be the laughingstock of the Company."

Roan smirked at Forrest. "My father was a policeman, as was his father before him. Both in Chicago."

Forrest rolled her eyes. "Look, I know your a legend and all but I'm not interested. okay?"

Roan chuckled. "Neither am I. missy. You'd just be too much work to seduce, and I don't crave challenges like I used to. So just listen to an old man for a minute and you might learn something...

"As I was saying, two generations of Chicago policemen in my family. I grew up hearing stories about the fight for the greater good. Stories of mafia busts, racial hate crimes, armed robberies, and so on and so forth. But I also grew up hearing stories that always included either a partner or some other brother on the force.

"There were guys in the PD that my dad and grandfather thought of as family just as much as they did me. My dad, I remember, used to have a new story at least once a month on how his partner had saved his ass once again. Normally here in the agency we get partnered up as needed for a mission. You might be with that person for up to 6 months and then you don't see them again for 6 years, if ever. My dad was partnered with the same guy for over a decade. He was closer to his partner than he was his own brother."

Roan gave Forrest a sad smile. "John has been partnered with Sara and Chuck for a few years now. You can see when he looks at them... it's the same way an older brother looks at his younger siblings. The same way my dad always looked at his partner. It's not just his partners that are lost right now. It's his friends, and I daresay even his family, that he is missing. And for a man like John there is nothing more important than protecting his friends and family."

* * *

**Ring Compound 20 Hours Prior**

Chuck looked over at Sara. "You're so pretty."

Sara smiled back at Chuck. "Thank you, Chuck."

Marcus looked less than amused. "Thank you for that piece of information Agent Michaelson. I'm sure the rest of us were unable to determine that. Now tell me... what was your team doing in L.A.?"

Chuck's head lolled around and he looked up sideways at Marcus. "L.A.?"

Marcus nodded. "Yes, why were you and Sara in L.A.?"

Chuck licked his lips and then smacked them a couple times. "Words taste funny right now."

Marcus inhaled and exhaled slowly. "Chuck, listen to me closely. Why were you and Sara in L.A."

Chuck's brow furrowed. "We were... We were..."

Sara hissed. "Chuck!"

Marcus whipped around and slapped Sara in the face, hard. Chuck visibly flinched at the impact. Sara noticed that his eyes momentarily narrowed and the cords stood out in his neck as he strained against his bonds. Then, as quickly as it appeared, he relaxed again and the glazed look came back over his eyes. "Hey, Marky boy. She doesn't know why we were there. She didn't need to know, you know?"

Marcus looked at Chuck dubiously. "But you know?"

Chuck grinned stupidly. "Yeah, I needed to know, you know?"

Marcus shook his head. "Okay, so why were you in L.A., Chuck?"

Chuck looked at Marcus and then looked at Sara then looked back at Marcus. "Come close, she will get mad if she hears why. And, well, she's pretty scary when she's mad."

Marcus nodded at one of his men to hold Chuck, then he stooped close as Chuck began to whisper to him. Finally, he stood up and whipped his head around at Sara before looking back at Chuck. Marcus then burst into laughter. "You really expect me to believe that?"

Chuck shrugged. "You've seen that I succeeded. Don't doubt my mojo. Check the codes if it will make you feel better."

Marcus looked between Chuck and Sara again, before shaking his head and stepping off to the corner of the room, dialing a number on his phone as he did. Sara looked at Chuck with an inquisitive look . Chuck gave her a half smile and a wink.

Marcus returned and pointed at both of his companions. "Take her back to her room. I need some time alone with Michaelson."

Marcus pulled up a chair and sat close to Chuck as the door closed. "So let me get this right... you expect me to believe that you are a Fulcrum Agent that was placed in order to get close to Agent Walker?"

Chuck sat up straight and his eyes narrowed. All traces of the drug-induced haze faded from his eyes as he narrowed them in Marcus' direction. "I expect you to follow the orders you were given when you confirmed my codes. I expect you to put me back in a room with my mark. And I expect you to stage a suitably believable scenario which puts me back under cover. And I expect it all done in the next 24 hours."

Marcus' eyes widened noticeably at the change in Chuck. "How is it that I haven't heard of you, with your apparent skills, Michaelson."

Chuck shrugged. "You probably have. Remember an Agent Carmichael?"

Marcus snorted. "That was you? I thought you were one of those intelligence community urban legends. Word has it you managed to get Orion to come in from the cold, once."

Chuck sighed heavily. "Yeah I would have, if it hadn't been for that idiot Ted Roark blowing my whole op. That guy was a grade-A screw up."

Marcus nodded. "Yeah, I had the displeasure of meeting him once. Guy had a bigger ego than our president. It appears that your contact has either been retired or has gone off-grid. Who have you been making contact with?"

Chuck shrugged. "No one. After the Roark incident I knew that Fulcrum as a whole had taken a big hit; all of my previous contacts were either captured or off-grid. But my orders had always been to maintain my cover above everything else. So, I was just biding my time until an opportunity arose to make contact again."

Marcus looked thoughtful. "Okay, I'll set this up and get you a new contact. You're going to work for us directly now, though. Congratulations on your promotion to being a part of The Ring."

Chuck cracked his neck. "Thanks. Well this has been fun and all but I think you should get me back in there with Walker before she gets suspicious. Besides, you need time to work on our exit strategy, and I'd like a nap before your next torture session."

Marcus chuckled. "I definitely respect the dedication to your assignment."

Marcus got up and left the room, telling the guards to take Chuck back to his room as he made his way out.

* * *

**Fortress 10 Hours Prior**

John stared at the map as the search area narrowed. John growled and punched the table. "That's still a search area the size of Texas!"

Stephen nodded. "Yeah, it is. But at this rate we will find Chuck in anywhere from 6 to 12 hours."

John pulled out his phone. "We are 6 to 12 hours from finding Michaelson. I need 3 tac teams standing by and ready to be in the air. We will be using Atlanta as our staging area. That is dead center of our current search area. We will move as needed to be within optimal strike distance."

John turned to the room. "Okay lets gear up. There is a bird on the roof waiting for us. We aren't coming back here without Romeo and Juliet so don't pack light. You..." John pointed at Stephen. "Oh crap who am I kidding. You won't stay here any more than Chuck would. Grab a vest, or two."

Stephen snapped a salute straight out a Monty Python show and made his way over to the armory. Forrest held out a vest for him and Stephen accepted it. "Why thank you Alex." Stephen flashed her the trademark Bartowski megawatt grin.

Forrest quickly turned around and went back to loading a clip for her MP5 as she mumbled. "Don't mention it."

Stephen chuckled lightly. "Hey don't take it so hard."

Forrest turned around with a confused look on her face. "Take what so hard?"

Stephen shrugged. "The fact that the Bartowski grin is still Kryptonite for you hard as nails super spy women. It worked on my wife for me, it worked on Sara for Chuck, and, well, they are two of the best spies I've ever had the pleasure to know."

Forrest narrowed her eyes and scrutinized Stephen. "Did John hit you on the head recently?"

Stephen flashed her another smile. "Nope and I'm glad he didn't because I would be seeing two of you then. And, well, I'm not a young man anymore. I'm not sure if I could take that much beauty at once."

Forrest turned around again, but not quickly enough to hide the flush that crept up her neck and into her cheeks. Her tone when she spoke however was cold and detached. "You should talk to Roan about a Seduction School refresher... you're obviously out of practice."

Stephen laughed. "Yes I am, and just imagine if I wasn't." Stephen left before he embarrassed the poor girl anymore. Had he stuck around he might have heard Forrest mutter. "Okay, maybe Walker never had a chance against that."

* * *

**Ring Compound 5 Hours Prior **

Chuck's head snapped up as he heard the sound of gunfire pierce the quiet. He looked over at Sara and saw that she was alert and worried. The door to the room burst open and Marcus came in. "You two get them down and bring them with us. We need to get them out of here, or at least safe, they are too valuable."

Chuck allowed himself to be hoisted up over the mans shoulder and the group made their way through the building. Several times they stopped to exchange gunfire but continued to make headway until Marcus stopped everyone. "Okay all the exits are blocked. We need to get those two into the safe room and draw the forces away from them."

They made their way though and down into the building for quite a while, before they came to a stop at a false wall that opened into a secure room. Chuck stared at the very thick door as he was carried past it. Finally, he and Sara were unceremoniously dumped in the room. Marcus quickly passed a piece of paper and a knife to Chuck before he pulled his companions out of the room with him and locked Chuck and Sarah inside.

Chuck opened the piece of paper and smiled. Then he jumped up and made his way to the control panel. After cutting himself free of his bindings, Chucks fingers danced over the control panel. Sara tried to get his attention. "Chuck! What is going on, and do you mind cutting me free??"

Chuck ignored her and continued typing into the pad. Finally he turned around with a smile as the room seemed to open up into a facility similar to what Castle had been in Burbank... only much more comfortable. Chuck talked as he released Sara. "Okay what's going on is that I just disabled all of the surveillance in this room and reprogrammed all of the access codes into this bunker. I tried to send out a distress signal, but all communications are cut off. I'm assuming its part of Marcus' plan. This place isn't that deep under ground, so my subcutaneous transmitter should still work. So basically we wait for Casey to show up with the cavalry. Which should take about 6 hours at least."

Sara's eyes narrowed. "Subcutaneous transmitter?? You planned on being captured??? Chuck! How many times have we talked about this???"

Chuck began walking towards the kitchen area of the bunker. "Obviously not enough for you to understand that no amount of talking is going to change the fact that I will always come for you."

Sara walked up to Chuck and embraced him. "How can I be mad at you for something I love you for?"

Chuck kissed the top of her head. "I love you too, Sara."

Sara stepped back and punched Chuck in the chest. "But if you ever put me through that again I swear you'll be sleeping on the couch until we are both retired. You hear me?"

Chuck held the spot where Sarah had hit him. "Owwww! Recently tortured here..."

Sara cocked her head, and drew her fist back again.

Chuck held up his hands. "Okay, okay. I'll do my best to never get tortured in front of you again."

Sara's eyes narrowed at him. "Chuck..."

Chuck held out the piece of paper for her. "Besides I don't think that will be a problem anymore. I'm officially a member of The Ring. That is my organization contact's number."

Sara took the paper and cocked her head. "Just how did you accomplish that?"

Chuck took a bite of an apple he found. "Well... they sort of think that I was a Fulcrum agent sent to seduce you. And, well, you kind of sold them on it. And they want me to continue to, err, umm, 'work' you as an asset and funnel out intelligence to them."

Sara stared at Chuck until finally Chuck got uncomfortable and exclaimed, "What?!"

Sara plucked the apple from him and took a bite. "So you seduced me?"

Chuck shrugged. "Well, he sure believed it."

Sara handed the apple back to Chuck and then strutted off. Chuck followed her movements and his eyes shot open as she began to pull her shirt off, speaking to him as she did. "I'm going to take a shower. Join me, and then you can give me a massage afterward."

Chuck opened his mouth to answer a couple times, and then finally settled on an answer. "Yes dear."

…

Chuck stroked Sara's hair as he watched her sleep. Suddenly the room began to shudder and shake with the sound of explosions outside. In a heartbeat Sara was on her feet and scanning the room. Chuck rolled over and stretched out. "Sounds like the self destruct just went off in the mansion."

Sara looked at Chuck. "And that doesn't worry you??"

Chuck shrugged. "Nope. We have 90 days worth of food for 10 in here. And my transmitter is still working. Since when have you ever known John to be less than thorough? They will dig us out in a few days. Until then, well, we rarely get any private time as it is."

Sara stared at Chuck and then began laughing. "Only you Chuck... only you would take a buried-alive situation and make a vacation out of it."

* * *

**Present**

John looked around the rubble. "Suck it up, boys. We aren't quitting until I have them, their bodies, or that transmitter in my hands."


End file.
